Thursday, November 23, 2006

human rights watch Letter to Indian PM

these human rights cottage industry guys very seldom say anything sensible. this may be one of those times.

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Friends of Tibet

China-India: Letter to Indian Prime Minister about Upcoming Visit of ChinesePresident

November 17, 2006

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

We write on the occasion of Chinese President Hu Jintao.s visit to India laterthis month. We recognize that your administration has many urgent issues todiscuss with President Hu and his team. Nevertheless, we urge that you raiseChina.s grim human rights record in its treatment of Tibetans during all your meetings and public appearances. With the further deterioration of human rightsthere, we ask that the issue be a priority during your meeting with PresidentHu Jintao, and that all your public statements reflect your concerns.

You have recently reiterated India.s commitment to human rights and haveentered into a partnership with the US to promote democracy. Those commitments,and India.s long history with Tibet, oblige India to do all it can to defend the human rights of Tibetans. For decades, India has demonstrated thatcommitment by hosting a large community and government-in-exile, including manyTibetans fleeing political, religious, and socioeconomic repression. But the situation inside Tibet is worsening, and your government.s deepeningrelationship with China offers an unprecedented opportunity to press China forchange.

We particularly draw your attention to the recent shooting on the China-Nepal border. On September 30, the Chinese People.s Armed Police (PAP) shot dead a17-year-old girl named Kelsang Namtso from Nagchu. At least one other Tibetan,23-year-old Kunsang Namgyal from Kardze, was shot twice and arrested, and is feared dead. The two were part of a group of 73 Tibetans who were attempting tocross the border into Nepal through the 6,000-meter-high Nangpa Pass.Survivors, once they reached New Delhi, said that there was no warning of any kind and that the soldiers were shooting to kill. Witnesses reported seeingChinese soldiers marching at least 10 children and up to 20 adults, at leastone of whom appeared to be injured, down from Nangpa Pass later that day. Forty-three people reached Kathmandu, Nepal, where the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sheltered them at the Tibetan Refugee TransitCentre (TRRC). The whereabouts of 32 members of the party, including 14 children, who did not reach Nepal, is still unclear.

We ask that you urge President Hu to permit an independent investigation intothe incident. In addition, the Chinese government should to allow aninternational agency with expertise in the rights and well-being of children to determine whether any of the 10 children reportedly apprehended by the borderguards were separated from their parents against their will and, in accordancewith the principle of the best interests of the child, to reunite them with their families.

In addition, we draw your attention to escalating repression in Tibet. Tibetansare increasingly concerned about the consequences for religious, cultural, andsocioeconomic freedoms following the July opening of the Lhasa-Qinghai railroad, and by the recent appointment of the smallest number of Tibetanssince 1966 to powerful bodies such as the Lhasa City Party Committee. Protestshave erupted recently over apparently preferential treatment given in Lhasa to ethnic Chinese university graduates, and Tibetan nomads are systematicallybeing forcibly resettled into urban areas where they cannot competeeconomically with ethnic Chinese. Efforts to engage in public discussions of such developments have resulted in the abrupt closure of websites. Suchdevelopments may, among other consequences, lead to an increasing flow ofrefugees to India. We hope that India will publicly reaffirm its commitments to support them.

We also ask that all Indian officials reiterate their expectations that Chinawill abide by its commitments as it agreed to when it ratified theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 2001, and signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR) in 1998, and under domestic law, with respect to the treatment ofTibetans.

Finally, we urge you to uphold India.s own protections on free expression and permit peaceful protests of President Hu.s visit. India.s decision to restrictthe free speech of activists who have stated their intention to protestpeacefully, and the Dharamsala police superintendent.s threat to deport protestors, are shocking encroachments on basic human rights. If India is to betaken seriously as a defender of human rights, these decisions must be reversedimmediately and publicly.

India has quietly shown its support for Tibetans. human rights in the past. It is our hope that a more public demonstration from your government will make animportant contribution to securing those rights.

We appreciate your attention to these matters.

Sincerely,

Brad Adams Executive Director,Asia Division, Human Rights Watch

...Friends of Tibet, PO Box: 16674, Bombay 400050, India....Friends of Tibet is a global movement to keep alive the issue of Tibetthrough direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China's occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends ofTibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people forindependence. To know more, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org...